


No Good Deed

by conceptstage



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-14
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-08-23 14:03:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16620407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage
Summary: Beau finds herself in jail again. Really, Caleb, it's not her fault this time.Prompted on tumblr: "I don't know how you get yourself into these situations."





	No Good Deed

Caleb followed the Crownsguard down the stairs as she led him to the holding cells. The first thing he noticed was the rhythmic sound of something thumping painfully against metal. “She’s down there,” the guardswoman said, pointing down to corridor to one of the far away cells. “Follow the annoying sound.”

Caleb sighed and nodded, moving passed her and continuing down until he found the source of the noise. “Beauregard, stop that.”

She didn’t stop, didn’t even look up at him and just continued banging her foot against the metal bars in front of her. “Shut up.”

“Come on,” he dangled the key to her cell in front of him. “Time to go. That’s enough imprisonment for today.”

“Shut up.”

“I don’t know how you get yourself into these situations.”

The pounding finally stopped and she looked up at him, reclining down on the hay covered stone floor. “I didn’t even do anything wrong, you know. I was trying to help. They wouldn’t listen to me.”

“I know. That’s why they’re letting you go now. One of the people you helped vouched for you and they’re looking for the real robber. Come on now, unless you want to spend the night here. I know a cell is pretty much like a second home to you by now.”

She flipped him off but didn’t move to stand. Caleb sighed and leaned against the bars, waiting for her to work through whatever was bothering her. Just when he was about to get enough of waiting and pull her out by her foot, she spoke up. “I’ve been… I’ve been so good, you know. I’ve been trying to follow Molly’s example, make the world better a little bit at a time. Today, when I saw those people being harrassed my first thought was ‘that’s just the way the world is and they should get used to it’. I was about to leave, but then my next thought was ‘why does the world have to be that way when I can do something about it’? So I jumped in and did what I could. The guy got away but the people still had their money, I thought I did good. I thought I made the world better, just a little bit. But I still ended up in the exact same place. Why am I trying, why did Molly try, if nothing we do makes any difference?”

Caleb grimaced. He really wasn’t the best person for this. “You know what they say, no good deed goes unpunished.”

Beau kicked his leg halfheartedly through the bars and then sat up. “Yeah, I guess. Let’s go.” She got to her feet and followed him out of the jailhouse. She paused just outside the door to feel the setting sun on her face and then suddenly there were arms around her waist. Her first instinct was to attack, but when she looked down she recognized the little girl from the family she’d helped grinning up at her. She froze, unsure what to do.

The girl squeezed her. “Thank you, Ma’am! We told the guards that you helped us, we’re sorry they took you. You were so strong and brave, I want to be just like you when I grow up!” There was a woman a few feet behind her who smiled and coughed pointedly. “Oh yeah,” the girl said, letting her go. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a green apple, holding it up. “We don’t have a lot of money but my parents said that we could give you this as a thank you.” Beau was still silent but took the apple. The girl grinned again and ran off to take her mother’s hand. They walked away, leaving Beau and Caleb standing in the doorway of the jailhouse.

Caleb raised an eyebrow. “Well, you clearly made a difference to her.”

Beau shoved him and started off towards the inn they were staying at, taking a large bite of her new apple to hide her growing smile from his smug eyes. “Shut up.”


End file.
